slides: Rhode Island’s 5 Best Brunches

Now that Spring is here (please...please let it be here), we're ready for brunch! Not sure what it is about tulips and daffodils poking through the soil that heralds a great omelet, but we've got a craving.

Our state responds with these 5 great places for the ultimate brunch.

Related Slideshow: Best Places for Brunch

The Ocean House

Watch Hill

There are few places as lovely or grand as the Ocean House, where the Sunday brunch is legendary. Indulge in luscious a la carte entrée choices and classic buffet treats such as shrimp cocktail, and a pastry bar. You can customize your Bloody Marys with all sorts of additions and sip away while enjoying the sun filled dining rooms and the views of the ocean.

XO Café

Providence

No surprise to those who read us regularly that we’re big fans of Chef Marty Lyons’ creative take on XO’s dinner menu. But don’t forget that this chic spot also serves a killer Sunday brunch (and yes, if you wear your jammies you’ll be rewarded with a complimentary mimosa or bloody Mary) that’s particularly hearty. Favorites of ours include the Meeting Street, a sandwich made with pork belly and asparagus hash, two poached eggs, and mornay sauce on grilled house-made bread, or the French toast with Silver Star sweet bread, crème brulee custard and strawberry/rhubarb compote. Those with simpler tastes will find an ample selections of more traditional favorites, too.

Nick's on Broadway

Providence

We kind of wish we could write a two-word round-up for this one that just read: Enough. Said. Thank owner/chef Derek Wagner for pushing the bounds of his restaurant from its earliest days right up to today. House smoked bacon. Breads baked in-house. The "craviest" granolas around. Heck, there is even an old-school French cassoulet made modern with local lamb, pork and beef. Breakfast is actually a tough meal to cook. The foods served don't give a chef a lot of leeway. It's pretty amazing to say that you've never had a bad breakfast somewhere, but that is the case with Nick's. Just consistently good, every time.

The Chapel Grille

Cranston

The Chapel Brunch is one to be reckoned with, size and quality-wise. The talented Tim Kelly has a menu full of local eggs and cheeses and meats that will please just about anybody. The kids will love the pizzas, the burger or the strawberry French toast sundae. The grown ups can enjoy the delicious frittatas, seared scallops over spinach artichoke risotto or one of our favorites, the chicken Milanese. This simple breaded chicken is elevated to tasty heights here.

Local 121

Providence

Local's new executive chef, Tyler Demora, has set out to re-affirm Local 121's mission of super local and super tasty. Demora has a refined touch for such a young chef, and it's all rooted in great technique. He gets that a perfect brunch is a certain combination of comfort and elegance. Thus, biscuits and gravy alongside the Jonah crab omelet. One of us is currently addicted to the breakfast sandwich with Siracha BBQ pork, fried egg and provolone. It's the perfect hangover cure: salty, sweet, spicy. A little hair of the dog, in the form of Local's gorgeous and delicious house cocktails, doesn't hurt either.